


down to earth

by 127



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angels, Demons, M/M, jaehyun is our resident human, markhyuck are markhyuck, sicheng is our angel who is just not having it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-02 09:53:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16784605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/127/pseuds/127
Summary: “Humans are a lot to wrap your head around. They’re just like you said: messy. Irrational, erratic, complex. You need to learn to empathize with them before you’re allowed to eternally condemn them and whatnot. I think this program could help you with that.”in which sicheng, an angel two semesters away from his college graduation, studies abroad on earth.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi! this is my first fic so please bear with me while i figure it all out <3  
> inspiration for this comes from "welcome! everything is fine!" by irlwonu and "star blossom" by hiraethtears + hoodiehwi, both on ao3. what can i say i have a thing for angel aus  
> ok let's do this thing

Head hung beneath shrugged shoulders, Sicheng sulked out of yet another interview that had gone south. It was the third he’d had this week, and his ego was diminishing by the minute.

He needed a break.

Halo Café was only a slight detour from his usual route home, but he would’ve trekked miles for an iced mocha at that moment. Sicheng nudged the door open with a slack shoulder before trudging onto the welcome mat. He was instantly hit with the familiar scent of coffee beans and baked goods.

“Hey, Si! It’s been a minute!” The barista’s chipper voice rang through Sicheng’s ears. Usually, he’d be grateful for the warm welcome, but he was not in the mood today.

“Hey, Mark,” Sicheng approached the counter and mustered up a two-dimensional smile. “How are you?”

The younger boy was completely oblivious to the dark cloud over Sicheng’s head. “Great! I think I finally figured the espresso machine out.” Sicheng glanced down at Mark’s apron, splattered with near-dry brown liquid. “For the most part, anyway,” Mark continued with a grin. “How’d it go? The intern thing?”

“Ah, I don’t think it’s gonna work out,” Sicheng lifted a hand to scratch the top of his head - one of his many nervous habits, and another cue Mark failed to pick up on. As expected, he maintained his optimistic shield. “That’s fine! You’ve had, like, twenty interviews since November! One of them is sure to work out eventually.” What Mark had intended to be an encouragement just reminded Sicheng how poorly his search was going. At least Mark was trying, he guessed.

“Yep. You’re right. It’ll be fine,” Sicheng muttered, suffocating every snippy remark he could think of. Just because Sicheng’s spirit had been crushed, that didn’t mean he had to do the same to Mark’s. “Large iced mocha, please. Light ice.”

With a few taps on his tablet’s screen, Mark nodded and held out his hand. “$2.47, go ahead and insert your card.”

As soon as it was done, Sicheng snagged his drink and waved goodbye. Mark was a sweet kid, but a guy could only take so much positivity when he was feeling anything but.

Sicheng fiddled with the straw between his lips as he mulled the interview over in his mind. He was so cordial. His handshake was snug. He laughed at the executive’s lame dad jokes. He had reliable references, and his resume filled three whole pages. He was so qualified, but something just wasn’t clicking.

Senior year was less than a semester away, and with junior year nearly behind him, he felt like he was...lagging. It seemed that everyone he knew had a career lined up for them the second they got their diplomas. Sicheng prided himself in his academics, and the amount of time he’d spent studying at the university library was both impressive and embarrassing. He could recite every court case that had passed through the holy chamber for the past three centuries, give or take. He knew the official ethics guidebook cover to cover. He had everything it took to serve as a Judge except the actual experience. And that was the most crucial pre-requisite there was.

Glancing up from his rhythmic steps, he realized he’d passed his own door. He fumbled for his key as he took a few strides back down the hallway until he reached the door marked 1028. He turned the knob and poked his head in. Preferably, none of his roommates would be home and he could wallow on the couch in peace.

No such luck. Taeil was standing in the kitchen, boiling water on the stove. A box of Easy Mac sat next to the pot, its noodles seemingly shaped like some cartoon character Sicheng didn’t recognize. “Welcome home,” Taeil greeted him with that genuine, toothy smile of his. “How’d it go?”

Sicheng pursed his lips and shook his head. Taeil frowned, but simply sent an apologetic look his way rather than projecting another uplifting speech. Sicheng appreciated that. He just wanted to finish his coffee in sad, peaceful solitude.

“My baby! I missed you!” Another voice boomed from the adjacent bedroom. Yuta barreled through the doorway and tackled Sicheng in an embrace. He had done the same thing two hours prior, when Sicheng had come home to drop his backpack off before heading out. And that morning, too, as he was leaving for class. And every other day as well. That’s Yuta for you.

“Missed you too, bro,” Sicheng said, muffled against Yuta’s shoulder. Yuta pulled away and rolled his eyes. “Honey, darling, sweetheart, sunshine...those are all suitable replacements for that embarrassment of a pet name. Anyways, how ya’ feeling? This one was it, right? You rocked it?” He was buzzing with excitement at a response he wasn’t going to get.

“Erm, not exactly,” Sicheng hung his keys on the hook next to the entryway and slid past Yuta to finally close the door. “No, come on. What happened this time?” Yuta whined, disappointed, following Sicheng to the living room like an obedient puppy. Sicheng flopped onto the leather sofa, letting his long legs hang over the back and resting his head on the armrest. Yuta curled up next to him, legs crossed neatly under him and his chin on his palms. His gaze was intent on Sicheng, ready to listen to all his woes.

“Nothing happened. It just...wasn’t it, you know?” With a limp wrist, Sicheng flipped through the TV guide, looking for something mindless to distract him. “Like, I talked to this old, important, professional guy for an hour and a half, and he basically knows my entire life story and academic history, and there was no connection. I just can’t see him calling me back.”

Yuta propped himself up on his knees and extended an arm to ruffle Sicheng’s hair. “It’s okay, bub. You’ll find something.” A toned down version of Mark’s TED Talk, and it still drifted by like empty air.

“I guess.” Sicheng settled on Jeopardy. Random, useless knowledge - something he was actually good at. Taeil crammed in next to them with a steaming bowl of macaroni, and the subject was dropped at last.

-

The following morning leaked through Sicheng’s window, bringing with it the lazy lounging that was atypical of his Saturdays. Normally, he’d be up by six, tugging his shoes on to go for a sunrise run. Unfortunately, his pity party was far from over and he wasn’t trudging out to the living room until around ten thirty.

“Look who’s up,” Taeil mused, already dressed and sitting at the kitchen table with Yuta. “How was your hibernation?”

“I tried to come wake you up an hour ago, but your door was locked,” Yuta pouted, a slender finger tracing the rim of his mug. “Yeah, because I wasn’t in the mood for unsolicited cuddles last night,” Sicheng muttered as he poured himself a bowl of Frosted Flakes. Yuta was unfazed, though, gulping his coffee down before it could get cold.

“Hey, Sich, not that I don’t support you or whatever, but...” Taeil turned in his seat to face the kitchen where Sicheng stood, “This isn’t the end of the world. You haven’t even heard back yet, and it’s not like you’ve exhausted all your options.”

“Every other legal office within four thousand miles has rejected me already. I’m just preparing myself for when this last one inevitably does, too.” Sicheng tried to keep his voice flat, monotone, to convince his roommates that he was nonchalant about the whole thing. Maybe he could even convince himself along the way.

“I know what will cheer you up,” Yuta perked up as his mug slammed on the table’s surface with a thud. “Let’s go to Halo. I think Mark is working!”

“Did you or did you not just inhale your third cup of coffee this morning?” Taeil eyed Yuta as if he was an unpredictable animal, about to break free from his cage. Nearly vibrating with energy, Yuta barked a loud “Mind your own business!” back at him. He rose from his chair, looking sweetly at Sicheng. “Get dressed, buttercup. If you can be ready in five minutes, I’ll pay.”

The trio filed through the cafe’s entrance, the bell above the door jingling to announce their arrival. Without missing a beat, Mark glanced their way from behind the pastry display. “Hey guys! It’s so late, I was getting worried you got lost or something.” It was barely eleven thirty; the roommates had a long-held tradition of starting every weekend off at Halo.

Yuta bounded up to the counter. “Nope, this one is just lagging a bit after yesterday’s disaster,” Yuta squeezed Sicheng’s arm, to which Sicheng yanked his arm back with a heavy eye roll. “You make me sound so dramatic. I think I’m the perfect amount of heartbroken for someone whose lifelong dreams are never going to come true,” Sicheng retorted with a huff. Taeil glared at them both, pushing past them to reach the cash register. “Sorry about them, but I’m more sorry that that’s what I have to live with,” Taeil’s lips curled into a grin, proud of his dad joke and the only one amused. “Anyways, can I just get a chocolate croissant?”

Twenty minutes or so later, they were seated at a high top table, their respective orders in tow. Yuta had ordered a large iced americano, and the excess caffeine was fueling him in his argument with Taeil. They were currently wrapped up in a discussion about an upcoming sports game. Soccer, maybe. Sicheng wasn’t listening. His eyes wandered the cafe, stopping on a wall of flyers. Journey cover band, drummer needed, one read. Another written in huge block letters declared that South Street McDonalds giving away a free cheeseburger with purchase of a large drink. One lamented about a lost cat who answered to the name Mister Mittens. All highlighted events or deals or groups that failed to grab Sicheng’s attention. Until one.

 _Real world experience_  
_Competitive edge_  
_Work towards your degree_  
_Study abroad now!_

The words were plastered on top of a sandy beach where a group of students lounged, laughing amongst themselves. A phone number and address were attached. Sicheng slid out of his seat to go take a closer look.

He searched the building’s address on his phone, determined to get a meeting in as soon as possible. Since it was the weekend, the building was closed, but he resolved to go first thing Monday morning.

He sat back down and rejoined the conversation. “Yuta, your card got declined buying milk last week. How could you possibly afford tickets to the championship game?” Yuta scrunched his nose at Taeil, sticking his tongue out. “I could, like, take out a loan or something. That’s how that works, right?” Taeil let his face fall into his hands in defeat. “Sure. Sure it does.”

Sicheng grinned, his eyes darting back and forth between his two roommates. If nothing else, they were great entertainment. His phone buzzed in his pocket, notifying him that he’d gotten an email.

_To whom it may concern,_

_Thank you for taking your time to interview with our law office committee. We regret to inform you that we have decided to go in a different direction with our team._

He locked his phone. Study abroad it was, then.

-

The weekend flew by. His self-pity had faded out and turned into hope. On the one hand, he was glad to have overcome his nervous breakdown. On the other hand, though, if this plan didn’t work out, he would be officially out of options.

His alarm blared out Monday morning, six AM sharp. Instantly, he sat up, slipped his feet into his slippers, and got dressed. Over-eager, he was ready to go half an hour before he needed to leave. The sky was still dark, the sun barely peeking over the horizon. Sicheng made himself a cup of coffee to pass the time. As the steaming liquid dripped into his mug, he heard shuffling on the floorboards behind him.

“Morning,” Taeil mumbled, a small fist rubbing his tired eyes. He was still in his pajama pants and a ratty, oversized tee. He nodded towards the kitchen. “The smell woke me up.”  
Sicheng frowned. “Sorry,” he whispered, even though the damage was already done. “Do you want some?”

Taeil grinned and pointed at his mug, already on the counter. Sicheng poured it for him, adding a splash of cream. He passed it to Taeil, who wrapped his fingers around the warm glass, humming cozily at the feeling. “When are you leaving?” he asked between sips.

“Fifteen minutes,” Sicheng let out a deep breath. If not for the tapping of his fingertips against the counter’s surface, he wouldn’t have realized his hands were shaking.

Taeil steadied them beneath his own. “You have no need to be nervous. I promise things will go well because that’s what you deserve, more than anyone. I believe in you, bud.”

Sicheng’s ears began to heat up, as they always did following compliments. He knew how hard he worked, sure, but it meant a lot more when someone else did, too. “Thank you, really. I’ll tell you everything when I get home, okay?” Taeil smiled and returned his focus to his drink.

-

Sicheng was out of breath by the time he reached the Student Affairs building. He’d walked from the apartment, and by only seven AM, the May sun was already blazing. He took a deep inhale, collecting himself before entering.

Inside, there was a fixture of brochures and a secretary’s desk. He was directed to an office down a hallway, first door on the left. The door was cracked, so he peered in. An older woman stood at a file cabinet, shuffling through the hundreds of papers it held. She seemed to have just arrived.

Sicheng cleared his throat, not wanting to interrupt her, but also anxious to start the meeting. She whipped her head around. “Oh, hi. Do you have an appointment?”

“Erm, no, sorry. I thought it would be okay to walk in. I just saw a flyer about study abroad and wanted to learn a bit more?” Sicheng suddenly felt guilty for barging in the way he did.

She smiled and shut the cabinet. “No, it’s okay. Clearly we don’t have much going on at the crack of dawn here, anyway. Come take a seat.” He sat facing her from across her desk. Next to her computer, there were several picture frames that held photos of what appeared to be students. They smiled from all corners of the universe, some in front of volcanoes and some snorkeling.

“What did you want to learn more about? Anything in particular?” His eyes snapped back up to her attentive gaze. “Oh. I don’t really know...anything,” he reached up to rub his neck, embarrassed. She chuckled, reaching into a drawer to retrieve several brochures. “Okay, well, we’d better get started. What’s your major?”

“I’m pre-law. I want to serve on The Council after graduation.” The woman’s eyes widened as she looked back at him. “Wow. Ambitious. We’ve had a lot of those come through here.”

“You have? Like actual, current justices?” Sicheng’s heart rate quickened, hope swelling in his chest.

“Yeah, a few. Let me ask you something else. What about The Council interests you?”

What a loaded question. Sicheng didn’t know where to begin. “Uh. Well. I really like the history of it - how the system has changed over time. Deciding what’s good and bad, right and wrong, who comes here and who goes...there. I think that’d be cool to be part of. I just wanna be behind the scenes like that, you know?”

The woman’s brows knitted together. “How much do you know about humans? What do you think of them?”

Sicheng’s face went blank, as did his mind. “I, uh. The history and...analytics kind of interest me more. The black and white stuff, the facts. Humans and their culture and all, it’s just so...messy. I focus on the cases and the laws, mostly.”

She pursed her lips together and slid a brochure his way. “I get that, I do, but you’re gonna need to broaden your horizons a bit if you want to be on The Council. It isn’t all about facts. Everything isn’t yes or no. There’s a lot of gray areas, and humans are a lot to wrap your head around. They’re just like you said: messy. Irrational, erratic, complex. You need to learn to empathize with them before you’re allowed to eternally condemn them and whatnot. I think this program could help you with that.”

Sicheng picked the brochure up. Visit Earth today!, the front read. His eyes bugged out of his head. “Is this real?” Humans ended up here, sure. But did angels ever go down there? He couldn’t even begin to imagine that.

“Sure is. We have exclusive permission to send our students down to Earth. You can study every history book out there, but nothing will teach you about mankind like immersing yourself in it.”

He flipped through the pages. “This doesn’t seem like my thing.”

His hopes were crushed. There was no way he was about to spend his senior year on Earth, with humans. Talk about a nightmare. His last option was a dead end.

Just as his spirits were hitting rock bottom, the woman replied, “That’s fine, then. We can look into other options. But every student who’s ever tried this study abroad has ended up on The Council.”

Sicheng nearly got whiplash from how quickly his head shot up. “You’re kidding. Every single one?” She nodded with a smug smirk. “How do I sign up?”

“It’s pretty simple. Like you, most students see this program as too great of a commitment, not to mention unappealing. Applying at all shows determination, so you’re almost guaranteed acceptance. I’ll send you a link where you can fill in your information, and you’ll hear back within the week.”

“What else do I need to know?”

“Well, you’d leave at the end of this semester, and it’s a year-long trip. You’d be assigned living quarters at our Earth campus, so no need to worry about that. All costs are covered by your tuition, and, uh...” She tapped her pen against her chin, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Oh. You’d complete all your required classes, and you’ll have a year-long project you’d turn in at the end. It’s not too tough, though. You’ll have a roommate while you’re there, and you have to make a daily log of his behavior. To prove you’re really studying humanity and involving yourself.”

That was a lot. Humans didn’t interest him in the slightest. They were so predictable and selfish, based on the court cases he’d studied. Spending a whole year with them was going to be a feat, and he didn’t even want to think about living with one.

But he needed this. He really, really needed this.

“I’m in.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When he got home, Sicheng laid down on the couch to begin his notes. He started a new Google Doc titled “human observations”.
> 
> \- name: jung jaehyun  
> \- occupation: manager/barista  
> \- overly chatty  
> \- finds humor in his own jokes  
> \- lacks boundaries
> 
> Sicheng set his phone down and tried to think of a single compliment.
> 
> \- free coffee

“No fucking way,” Yuta gaped in disbelief. “No way. I say that because that’s fucking crazy and also because I’m not letting you leave for a whole year.”

Sicheng clasped his hands together in his lap. He knew Yuta wouldn’t take this well. He had made them a plate of cookies to break the news. Taeil was still munching away on a chocolate chip one, whereas Yuta had spat his out for dramatic effect.

“Well, I just submitted my application, so,” He picked up a cookie and popped it in his mouth. “It’s happening.”

“This is a really big commitment,” Taeil gulped, “Can’t you just take a second to consider…anything else?”  
  
“Mm, not really. I leave at the end of July, and sign-ups are closed after finals.”

“I mean, we only want the best for you,” Taeil paused to stifle Yuta’s cries of dissent (“Not if it means you leave for three hundred and sixty five days!”), “So if this is what you want to do, we wholeheartedly support you.”

“Thanks,” Sicheng glanced over at Yuta, who was pouting in a ball on the other end of the sofa. Taeil cleared his throat and motioned towards the temper tantrum unfurling beside him. Sicheng sighed. “Hey, um…honey?” Yuta poked his head out from under his crossed arms.

“I’m really gonna miss you, you know that?” That was enough to unfold Yuta from the knot he was sitting in. He nearly fell off the couch leaning over to give Sicheng a bear hug. “Damn right you will,” he said, muffled in the younger’s hoodie.

They rarely spoke of it after that. Finals hit them with a vengeance, and the common room was silent for the first time in months. Each of them retreated to their bedrooms, libraries, study groups, with no room to even think about life past their exams.

The moment they were finished, though, it was business as usual. Yuta was the last of them with a test to take, and he burst through the front door looking reborn. “Free at last, bitches! Let’s get the fuck out of here!”  
  
It took the whole next day, but they crammed the entirety of their belongings into suitcases to go home for the summer. For Taeil, that meant a month in Hawaii with his family. For Yuta, that meant coaching his neighborhood’s rec-league swim team. For Sicheng, that meant…not much of anything. All he had left to do was anticipate the biggest lifestyle change he’d ever undergone.

He occupied his summer sitting in his childhood bedroom researching humans. He wanted to prepare himself, maybe even condition himself to like them. To his dismay, though, everything he found about their kind only deterred him further. There were a few exceptions, sure: heroes who saved children from burning buildings, protesters standing up for the oppressed, environmentalists protecting their planet, whatever. He thought of them as exceptions for a reason, though. The vast majority of humans were so self-involved. Every earth-based news site he came across had thousands of pages of people doing terrible things. If anything, he was more stressed than he had been before all of his research.

He wanted to distract himself. He didn’t want to sit and let all of his anxiety fester for two months. But everyone he knew was interning, save for Yuta and Taeil, whom he called every day. The constant loneliness that his vacation had given him was an astute reminder of why he was going to Earth. He didn’t have to like the humans, he just had to tolerate them.

-

June came and went, and in the blink of an eye, he was re-packing everything he’d brought home. For the first time in years, though, he wouldn’t be filling his same old drawers in his apartment with the guys. He couldn’t even picture where he’d put all his things because he hardly knew where he was going. He zipped a framed photo of himself with Yuta and Taeil into his bag, letting out a deep breath as he did so. His usual back-to-school jitters were exponentially worse, coupled with the unknown he was about to face.

He kissed his mom on the cheek, hugged his dad, and called for a ride. Smushed up against the taxi’s window alongside his luggage, he unlocked his phone and flipped through his email. He scrolled through dozens of coupons and forwards from his grandma before he found what he was looking for: the itinerary from the study abroad office. The address he was heading towards was on a street he’d never heard of, and it didn’t pop up when he searched it in maps. Wherever they were going, it was about to be a long drive. He folded his arms on the window and rested his head on his wrist. The chill of the glass against his skin was refreshing from the blaring summer sun outside. In a matter of minutes, he dozed off, his breathing in a steady rhythm with the bumps in the road.

-

The taxi was stopped when Sicheng woke up. He squinted an eye open, then both opened when he realized where he was. Or, rather, where he was not. Where he expected to see the interior of a vehicle was a room with gray walls and no furniture. He sat up and braced himself on the lone bed’s headboard. He threw the sheets back and looked at his clothes; somehow, they had changed to a tee shirt and pajama pants. Where was he? Had he been kidnapped? Was he losing his mind?

To his left, on the floor, were his suitcases. One was unzipped, and the others were neatly stacked beside it. He cautiously slipped out of bed and made his way to the door. Slowly, he turned the knob and peeked his head out.

Someone was out there.

He slammed the door instantly. His kidnapper, if he had actually been kidnapped, was spotted. He frantically searched for his phone: on the floor, in the blankets, under the bed, packed away in his suitcases. Before he could unzip his last duffel bag, he heard a knock at the door. He froze.

Another knock. Sicheng stayed put.

“Erm…are you in there? Or am I just hearing things?” A man’s voice was muffled behind the door.

“Who’s there?” Sicheng tried to sound confident, threatening,but his voice was shaking. “Uh…Jaehyun?” The man sounded puzzled. “Who else would it be?”

Sicheng was so utterly confused. He stood up to take a seat at the edge of his bed. “Come in,” he finally called back.

The door creaked open, and Sicheng finally saw the culprit from the front. Faded brown bangs fell in his chestnut eyes, framing his button nose. His lips were twisted in a tilted grin on the side of his face; his cheeks were tinted a cozy shade of rose. He donned a black tee shirt, dark jeans, an apron and filthy tennis shoes. “Good morning, roomie,” the boy - Jaehyun - said.

“Roomie?” Sicheng murmured, mostly to himself. Was he where he thought he was?

“Yeah, roomie. Roommate. That’s what kids are calling it nowadays,” Jaehyun took another step and cracked the door behind him. “You must’ve come in before I did last night and fallen right asleep. I wouldn’t have even known you were here if you hadn’t just slammed your door.”

“Sorry about that,” Sicheng wouldn’t have known where he was, either, if not for Jaehyun. He still didn’t really understand. “I guess I didn’t expect to see you out there, is all.”

  
  
“Fair enough.” The boys held awkward eye contact for a few seconds before both averted their gaze to the floor. Jaehyun cleared his throat to break the silence. “Well. It was great to finally meet you. I have to go to work, so maybe I’ll see you later.”

“Yep.” Sicheng waited for the door to close, then stood up to lock it. He turned, his back on the door, and slid down to sit on the floor. He crossed his arms over his knees and let his chin fall in his hands. So this was Earth.

He didn’t love it so far.

Once he heard the front door close and he knew there would be no more surprise attacks, he set out to explore his new home. His bedroom was opposite the apartment’s common area, which featured a loveseat, a coffee table, and a TV. Adjacent to that room was the kitchen, pretty standard with an island and some barstools. In between the two, directly across from Sicheng’s room, was another door that he assumed led to Jaehyun’s room. Sicheng crept out to the living room.

Atop the coffee table was his phone. He snagged it and immediately dialed Taeil’s number. He just needed to speak with someone he knew so he could figure out if he was dreaming or not.

No answer. He called Yuta next, to no avail. He kept going down his entire contact list, but nobody was picking up. With his fingers crossed, he dialed the last number he knew.

“Sicheng! You never call me. Is everything okay?” Mark’s upbeat tone that bordered on screaming caused Sicheng to pull the phone away from his ear in surprise. “Yeah, I think so. I’m on Earth, though.”

“What’s it like? When did you get there? Have you met any humans? Can they tell you’re an angel? Are they nice? Are they weird-looking? What do they smell like? Do you like it? Do you like them?” Sicheng grimaced through Mark’s interrogation, unable to get an answer in between each question.

“Dunno. I haven’t even left my apartment yet.”

‘Well, get out there! There’s an entire planet you have to discover!’

“I think I’m good here.”

‘That’s so dull. Where’s your roommate?’

“He left for work, like, fifteen minutes ago. I’m enjoying my new bachelor pad until he gets back.”

‘He’s the whole reason you’re there. You should follow him, get to know him!’

Sicheng scoffed. “I have no interest in that. He sleeps twenty steps from my bed, I think I’ll be seeing plenty of him.”

Mark hummed disapprovingly into the mic. “Okay, then. I just never had you pegged as such an underachiever. So lazy. You must not care about your future.”

Sicheng rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll figure it out. Later, Mark.”

‘Bye, bud! Have fun, I miss you!’

Sicheng hung up and tossed his phone beside him on the couch. How was he supposed to find out where Jaehyun worked? Is this not a form of stalking? He was less than thrilled about Mark’s bright idea.

He thought back to their brief meeting in his bedroom. Did Jaehyun mention where he was going? Or what he did? He was wearing an apron, so he must work at a restaurant. Maybe he was a chef. Sicheng grabbed his phone again and searched nearby restaurants that were open this early in the morning.

Sicheng realized he was still in his pajamas. He quickly threw on a short-sleeved yellow button up and light wash jeans. As he tied his white hi-tops, he realized he had no car. He’d have to wander around this city he’d never stepped foot in and pop in every restaurant he passed. Earth was not treating him kindly thus far.

He walked out of the apartment complex, and within five minutes, sweat was dripping down his forehead. The sunlight back home was warm, but Earth’s was brutal. Must be that damn global warming he’d read about, he thought to himself. He needed to cool off before he melted to a puddle.

Like a saving grace, Sicheng spotted a cafe on the other side of the street. An iced coffee was calling his name, and breakfast didn’t sound half-bad, either. He deserved a pit stop after this grueling hike of barely two hundred feet.

It was odd, entering a cafe without Mark’s aggressively pleasant demeanor. It was packed, but everyone’s eyes were glued to a laptop or a phone. Sicheng made his way to the counter, feeling out of place. A single barista was standing at the sink, half-assed wiping a mug with a rag. His nose was upturned as if he found this work to be beneath him. His hair draped over his forehead, tinted a shade between orange and brown. His skin glowed gorgeously beneath it, golden tan, and his features were delicate on his face. He definitely looked like he could drop this job and model at any second. He must’ve been around Mark’s age.

“Um, excuse me?” Sicheng’s voice was small, intimidated by this kid for no reason at all. The kid glanced up. He was clearly bothered, as if Sicheng had interrupted something very important and private. He trudged over to the counter. “How can I help you?” He said in monotone.

“Can I just get an iced mocha with light ice, please? And a blueberry muffin?” Sicheng pulled his card out from his wallet.

“Our machine’s broken. Cash only,” The boy scribbled the order down on a plastic cup. “Name?”

  
  
“Sicheng. And I don’t have any cash on me,” Sicheng ruffled through his wallet, only to find two nickels.

“I can’t give you free food. Sorry, dude,” The boy set the cup down and walked back to the sink. Sicheng glanced down at the cup. The boy had only written “???” where his name was supposed to be.

Sicheng hated Earth. He despised it. He turned to leave, but he was stopped by a voice from behind the counter.

“Roomie?” Jaehyun’s eyebrows were furrowed together, but he was biting back a grin. “Are you following me?”

  
  
“Jaehyun,” Sicheng gaped in response. “I didn’t- No. I’m not. You work here?”

“You’re looking at the manager of this fine establishment, actually,” Jaehyun smiled and wiped his hands on his apron. “What can I get you? Or should I say, what can Hyuckie get you? On me.” Sicheng’s eyes darted over to the boy who must be Hyuckie. He was pouting, angled eyes shooting daggers at Jaehyun. “Iced mocha, light ice, and a blueberry muffin,” he repeated under his breath before he picked the cup back up and got to work.

“Come on, I’m taking my break. We can sit outside,” Jaehyun led Sicheng back into the hellfire he had just escaped. Sicheng squinted his eyes against the sun, but Jaehyun didn’t seem to mind it.

“So,” Jaehyun pulled Sicheng’s chair out for him, “You got nothing better to do today?”

‘You could say that.’

“Class’ll start in a few days and you can occupy yourself then. Or I could introduce you to a few people, if you want.”  
  
‘Thanks.’ Sicheng had no interest whatsoever in meeting Jaehyun’s friends. He signed up for one human, not a pack of them.

Hyuckie kicked the door open and threw Sicheng’s order down on the table. “Thanks, Hyuckie,” Sicheng smiled politely up at him.

“Donghyuck. My name is Donghyuck. Never call me that again if you want to see your next birthday,” He narrowed his eyes at Jaehyun and went back inside.

Jaehyun burst out laughing. “He used that line on me probably a hundred times before he just gave up. Good try, though. I dare you to say that to him on your way out.”

The one-sided pet names reminded Sicheng of Yuta. He felt his heart tug at the thought of his friends. Of home.

“I don’t wanna mess with him. He’s kind of terrifying.” Sicheng took a sip of his coffee and felt his body temperature drop a few degrees.

“Please. He’s the biggest baby I’ve ever met. It’s just an act,” Jaehyun picked off a chunk of Sicheng’s blueberry muffin and popped it in his mouth. Awfully comfortable for someone Sicheng had met less than an hour ago. Sicheng pulled the muffin back and took a bite.

A group of eight middle-aged businessmen walked past the pair and into the cafe. “I’d better go back in,” Jaehyun stood up abruptly, “Donghyuck will be pissed if I make him handle that all alone. I’ll see you back home, okay?” With that, he was gone.

Sicheng picked up his cup and the remains of his muffin and returned to the apartment.

At the crosswalk, he checked his email. He had one new message from the study abroad office.

_Good morning DONG SICHENG!_  
  
_By now, you should have arrived in SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA and met your housemate, JUNG JAEHYUN._

_We hope that you had a safe trip and that you are adjusting properly. If you do not remember your arrival, do not panic! Short-term memory loss is a common side effect of intergalactic travel, along with jet lag and whiplash._

_Please be sure to write a daily report and submit each week’s work to the online portal each Friday at 23:59._

When he got home, Sicheng laid down on the couch to begin his notes. He started a new Google Doc titled “human observations”.

  * _name: jung jaehyun_
  * _occupation: manager/barista_
  * _overly chatty_
  * _finds humor in his own jokes_
  * _lacks boundaries_



Sicheng set his phone down and tried to think of a single compliment.

  * _free coffee_



Before he could brainstorm anything else, the jet lag hit him and he was knocked out into a nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooo! jaehyuck have arrived so hopefully we're done with awkward introductions!! we're finally getting into the fun stuff heh
> 
> i just finished exams and i'm on break so hopefully there will be a few more updates before i go back to school. thank you so much for reading, i appreciate every read/kudos/comment/bookmark endlessly!! <3

**Author's Note:**

> i'll try to update as soon as possible after every chapter! i do most of my writing at 2 in the morning when i can barely keep my eyes open, so it shouldn't be too long until chapter 2.  
> leave any questions or comments down below and thanks for reading! <3


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